Men's Basketball

Home Teams & Binghamton Headed to the Men's #AEPlayoffs Semifinals

Three higher seeds held serve in Sunday’s America East men’s basketball quarterfinals while one road team spurred an upset. Vermont, UMBC and Hartford were all winners at home to move onto the semifinals and Binghamton was victorious on the road.
 
#1 Vermont 98, #8 NJIT 59
  • Vermont shot 60 percent from the field and led wire-to-wire to advance to the semifinals for the 20th time in the last 21 seasons.
  • The Catamounts have now won 20 of their last 22 games overall.
  • UVM dominated the paint, scoring 46 points in the paint and holding a 39-17 rebounding edge.
  • Ben Shungu led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points. Five other Catamounts scored in twin figures.
  • Miles Coleman paced NJIT with a game-high 22 points.  
 
#2 UMBC 93, #7 UMass Lowell 85 (OT)
  • UMBC outscored UMass Lowell 15-7 in overtime to thwart the River Hawks’ comeback bid.
  • The Retrievers are onto the semis for the fifth-straight season.
  • UMass Lowell overcame a 13-point deficit with just 6:55 left, using an 18-5 run to force the extra session.
  • Darnell Rogers, a third-team All-Conference choice, scored 10 of his team-high 23 points in overtime.
  • Allin Blunt poured in a career-high 33 points for UMass Lowell.
 
  #6 Binghamton 72, #3 New Hampshire 69
  • In the game of the day, Binghamton outlasted UNH to advance to the semifinals for the second time in four seasons.
  • The Bearcats are the second-straight #6 seed to advance to the semifinals.
  • The game featured six ties and 12 lead changes.
  • UNH’s failure to capitalize at the free throw line impacted the game. The Wildcats were just 10-of-22 from the stripe.
  • First-team All-Conference selection Jacob Falko returned from injury to score a game-high 23 points.
  • Jayden Martinez paced UNH with 17 points.
  
#4 Hartford 61, #5 UAlbany 49
  • Hartford’s stifling defense held UAlbany to a season-low 49 points en route to advancing to the semifinals for the fifth-straight season.
  • The Hawks have won seven-straight #AEPlayoffs games dating back to 2020.
  • Hartford held UAlbany to just 25 percent shooting from the field.
  • Traci Carter, an All-Championship selection a year ago, scored a game-high 21 points.
  • Matt Cerruti led UAlbany with 13.
 
The semifinals will take place on Wednesday. No. 1 Vermont will host No. 6 Binghamton and No. 2 UMBC will host No. 4 Hartford. Both games will be played on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN+
 
Tickets can be obtained by contacting each host's ticket office or visiting #AEPlayoffs Central. 
 
The  two semifinal winners will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 12 at 11 a.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court.

Complete postseason information can be found at americaeast.com/mbbplayoffs.

About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field. 
 
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